US dollar inches up, gold climbs down

With the US dollar rebounding from multi-year lows after the tension between the US and North Korea simmered down, gold prices edges lower during Wednesday’s trade after hitting more than a nine-month peak on Tuesday. Spot gold inched down 0.1% to USD 1,308.11 per ounce as of 0020 GMT. In the previous session, it hit the highest since November 9 at 1,325.94.
 
US’ gold futures for December delivery fell 0.4% to USD 1,313.70 per ounce. The dollar rebounded from a 2.5-year low on Wednesday as concerns about North Korea’s firing of a missile over Japan ebbed, but Asian stocks were muted despite Wall Street’s closure at a higher level.
 
Meanwhile, US’ consumer confidence surged to a five-month high in August as households grew increasingly upbeat about the labour market while house prices rose further in June, suggesting that a recent acceleration in consumer spending was likely to be sustained. The data on Tuesday also supported views that economic growth would accelerate in the second half of the year after a sluggish performance earlier. 
 
Holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.3% to 816.43 tons on Tuesday.